I’ve found that tacos are one of the most “normal” foods people with Celiac Disease can eat, but for some reason the fast food taco restaurants don’t seem to bother ensuring their tacos are gluten free!
Do you have a Taco Bell in your area that you’d like to eat at? It seems like most places have one, so I decided to do some research and see what Taco Bell has that is truly gluten free.
Unfortunately, my research produced limited results, but I did find this Taco Bell allergens chart which includes gluten as one of the allergens. It isn’t an ideal or definitive list, but it might help some people who really want to eat at a Taco Bell.
Once Taco Bell posts something official on their website, I will be sure to get this post updated with their official listing.
20 Responses
I did some research as well and i found that you can have the tostada, steak bowl, beans, rice, sauces and drinks. Their ground beef has fillers that contain gluten. Their corn tortillas are safe but they have no menu items with them and no beef.
This is actually an old allergy sheet. I found an updated one at http://www.tacobell.com the taco meat is NOT gluten free nor are the taco shells. Bummer…..
I have heard that McDonalds has started dipping the fries in something befor the cook them and that they are no longer gluten free.
The ONLY items served at Taco Bell that are gluten-free are the pintos and beans and the Mexican rice. Bailey, I am not sure where you got your information but I can assure you that it is incorrect, even by Taco Bell’s own info (see http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/food-allergens-and-sensitivities and http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement). Their corn tortillas and all taco shells are made with oat or wheat flour, and their beef products have a gluten-containing sauce/spice. I really hope you’re not eating there…
If you absolutely HAVE to order from Taco Bell, you can request a tostada with pintos and beans and some cheese, but that’s it. NO meat is safe there.
Yeah, that sheet is bad. Please see the following: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/food-allergens-and-sensitivities/. If you are gluten intolerant, you might as well go somewhere else!
Ashley…In one sentence you say that the tortillas are not gluten free at Taco Bell and yet you say that the tostada is safe to order from there which is a corn tortilla. SO ARE THE TOSTADAS SAFE TO EAT THERE OR NOT???
Cantina Tacos baby! I’m having all three right now.
they never were…the oil they cook them in contains gluten
Remember something Vitally Important when eating out is “Cross Contamination”…you may Think it is ok to eat the Fries.. because it’s Potatoes… but unless they are Fried in a ‘Designated SAFE Fryer” that is STRICTLY For Gluten FREE Foods/Fries… then your Not Safe to Eat them. Fast Food places use the same fryer to fry multiple foods in the Same Fryer including BREADED & Nonbreaded Food Items.
Resturants like Chilies and or Applebee’s that have Trained people in “Cross Contamination’ know that a Food Preparation ‘area’ must be Designated once a customer comes in an announces that they are Gluten Intolerant same as with other customers with Food Allergen announcements. Always Remember This MOTTO: When In Doubt-DON’T! … I am a Support Representative for the Celiac Disease Foundation
I order my daughter the bean burrito w/o the shell. She loves it and has not had any issues with it. You can also get taco bell to go and take it home and use a home made tortilla shell that is gluten free. You may be able to to store bought ones from whole foods but they are easy to make at home and store as normal.
Newly diagnosed with Gluten Intollerance and found out the hard way about Taco Bell’s meat containing Gluten.
Thanks for the good info on Taco Bell.
They are not even potatoes…they have gluten fillers IN them.
I know….it is hard…keep going..you will feel IMMENSLEY better!!
Taco Bell says their red sauce has a yeast extract that contains gluten. I believe this is the red sauce on the tostadas and beans. I ate the tostadas, had a reaction and unfortunately checked after the fact. I should have known because some canned enchilada sauces have wheat.
Oh no I can’t eat at Taco Bell…
I have always HATED Taco Bell, but I’m 6 weeks pregnant and the cravings are bad when i’m not retching. My husband and I drove past a Taco Bell last night and I suddenly wanted all their crappy food all at once….this is a good deterrent
thanks all!
We order the tostada without the red sauce and then use the hot sauce packets to sauce it up – which is just fine because the red sauce is kind of gravy-like anyway so I don’t really care for it. Just don’t use the Fire sauce b/c it has gluten.
BTW, I’ve never been able to find out definitively if the tostada red sauce contains gluten (there allergen info is not very detailed!!) but we just stay on the safe side.
Taco Bell is all gluten…